1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to toy vehicles of the free wheeling type, and pertains more particularly to a toy vehicle of this character having a reduced amount of resistance between the vehicle and the channeled track along which it is intended to travel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Free wheeling toy cars have been designed to travel over various types of surfaces. When the vehicles are used for racing, a considerable amount of competition and challenge usually develops between players. In an interparticipant game where free wheeling cars are permitted to gravitationally roll down an inclined plastic track having upwardly extending sidewalls, achieving the maxmimum speed and greatest distance that the car travels creates a keenly competitive atmosphere between the racing participants.
Accordingly, efforts in the past have been directed toward minimizing the amount of rolling friction as the car or vehicle gravitationally moves down the channeled track. Since wide wheels have been employed in order to resemble the tires of a racing car to reduce friction of the wheels with respect to the roadbed portion of the channeled track peripheral ribs have been employed. Also, the friction has been reduced by using tapered wheel surfaces instead of ribbed surfaces. In either instance, the amount of wheel contact with the simulated roadbed has been reduced with a concomitant reduction in rolling friction.
While it is commendable to reduce the amounts of rolling and journal friction, these are only two factors in the overall resistance picture. In order words, if one reduces the rolling friction, this is a step in the right direction (and the same holds true for reducing the bearing or journal friction). To reduce the friction or resistance between the wheels of a toy vehicle and the sidewalls of the channel track, the sidewalls have been angled so that they diverge upwardly, thereby providing only a point contact between the rim of the wheel and the wall, the point being where the motion is a minimum. Even though only a point contact can occur, there still remains a significant amount of friction resulting from the contact that does occur that retards the free movement of the car as it travels gravitationally down the track.
Accordingly, a general object of our invention is to reduce the overall amount of friction or resistance encountered by a free wheeling toy vehicle as it gravitationally travels or is launched down an inclined track. In this regard, an aim of the invention is to maintain a low amount of rolling resistance between the wheels of the vehicle and the roadbed of the track, as done in the past, but to further reduce the friction by minimizing the amount of rubbing contact that develops between the wheels of the vehicle and the sidewalls of the channeled track.
Another object of the invention is to achieve the foregoing objective without adversely detracting from the appearance of the toy vehicle. In this regard, it is intended that the toy vehicle retain its replicated appearance as to whatever actual vehicle it is intended to represent, yet incorporating therein the teachings of our invention. More specifically, it is within the purview of the invention to provide a toy car in which the reduced resistance is realized in a manner imperceptible to an ordinary observer.
A specific object of our invention is to correlate the lateral spacing of the front wheels of a toy vehicle with respect to the lateral spacing of its rear wheels, the correlation involving a greater spacing for the front wheels than the rear wheels so that less contact of the wheels with the sidewalls of a channeled track results as the car rolls down the track. It is within the contemplation of the invention to select a differential lateral wheel width between the front and rear wheels in accordance with the wheel base of the toy vehicle so that a maximum reduction of friction is experienced for that particular vehicle.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a toy vehicle of the foregoing character which will cost no more to manufacture than toy vehicles of the free wheeling type that are already on the market.
Briefly, our invention envisages a toy vehicle of the free wheeling type in which the front wheels have a greater lateral spacing than the rear wheels. When such a vehicle is employed in combination with a channeled track having upstanding and outwardly diverging sidewalls, the greater spacing of the front wheels causes either of the front wheels, as the case may be, to contact one of the sidewalls when the vehicle assumes an acute angle with respect to that particular sidewall so that the front wheel strikes the sidewall with a glancing blow that is of only a moderate magnitude with the consequence that the rear wheel at that side of the vehicle then swings toward the sidewall that has been engaged by the front wheel with the result that the vehicle is then headed at an angle away from that particular sidewall. By employing a differential in lateral spacing that is correlated with the wheel base and also the width of the track, an overall combination of toy vehicle and track is realized wherein the toy vehicle travels throughout the length of the track with a less frequent contact of its wheels with the track's sidewalls. Not only is there a reduction in the number of contacts as the toy car traverses the length of track, but there is also a reduced amount of force with which the wheels bear against the sides of the track when contact does occur.
An optimum condition would result if the toy vehicle traveled down the channeled track without striking either sidewall during the movement throughout the length of the track. While this is an ideal condition, it is readily apparent that it is not achievable in practice. Nonetheless, by reducing the contact force and the average period of time for each contact, the ideal situation just alluded to can be more closely approached than heretofore.